India’s Deputy Consul General in New York, Devyani Khobragade, attends a Rutgers University event at India’s Consulate General in New York, June 19, 2013. BY SANJEEV MIGLANI NEW DELHI Fri Dec 27, 2013 CREDIT: REUTERS/MOHAMMED JAFFER/SNAPSINDIA (Reuters) – India has sought details about staff in American schools in the country for possible tax violations and revoked ID cards of U.S. consular officials and their families, retaliatory steps for the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York. The measures suggest that the two countries are no closer to a resolution of a diplomatic dispute over the treatment of Deputy Consul General…

A National Security Agency (NSA) data gathering facility is seen in Bluffdale, about 25 miles (40 kms) south of Salt Lake City, Utah, December 17, 2013. CREDIT: REUTERS/JIM URQUHART (Reuters) – A federal judge ruled that a National Security Agency program that collects records of millions of Americans’ phone calls is lawful, calling it a “counter-punch” to terrorism that does not violate Americans’ privacy rights. Friday’s decision by U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the program, whose existence was first disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. It also…

The government of South Sudan has agreed to an immediate end to fighting with rebels, East African leaders meeting in Nairobi say. The leaders said they “welcomed the commitment by the government of the Republic of South Sudan to an immediate cessation of hostilities”. They called on rebel leader Riek Machar to “make similar commitments”. More than 1,000 people are said to have died in recent fighting in the world’s newest state. At least 100,000 people have fled their homes, with about 60,000 seeking refuge at UN compounds across the country, according to the UN, which is sending extra peacekeepers….

Lines of cars are pictured during a rush hour traffic jam in central Shanghai July 11, 2013. CREDIT: REUTERS/ALY SONG – General Motors Co’s (GM.N) China joint venture will recall close to 1.5 million vehicles due to potential safety issues in one of the biggest recalls in the world’s biggest autosmarket. Shanghai General Motors Co Ltd, GM’s venture with SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS), will recall about 1.46 million Buick and Chevrolet models produced locally due to issues with a bracket that secures the fuel pump, the country’s quality watchdog said on Friday. Some of the recalled vehicles include the Chevy Sail which is…

– A Turkish court blocked a government attempt to force police to disclose investigations to their superiors, officials said on Friday, setting back Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s effort to manage fallout from a high-level corruption scandal. Police on December 17 detained dozens of people, among them the sons of the interior minister and two other cabinet members, after months of graft probes that were kept secret from commanders who might have informed the government in advance. The ensuing crisis is unprecedented in Erdogan’s three terms, triggering the ministers’ resignations and a reshuffle, and spreading speculation he may call snap elections…

Futenma airbase has long been a source of tension between the US and Japan Japan has approved the relocation of a US military airbase on its southern island of Okinawa, officials said. The governor, Hirokazu Nakaima, agreed to landfill work to develop a new base in a less densely populated part of the island, officials said. The agreement is a breakthrough following years of deadlock over where a new US base should be placed. The US has around 26,000 troops on Okinawa under a long-standing security alliance with Japan. However, the bases are unpopular locally and there is growing pressure…